Education

Our overall goals for education are simple.  We want our children to have the best education possible, period.  I want to give all children the best opportunities to the best education available.  We also want to encourage an educational system that recruits the best and brightest and pays them accordingly to their talents and abilities.

I support merit pay for teachers.  Obviously there are potential flaws with merit pay, however it would be a vast improvement over our current structure that does not give teachers any incentive to go above and beyond and excel at teaching.  Just as other industries strive for excellence by providing their employees with incentives to do their best, we need to reward teachers who excel at their profession. 

I am for educational reform and do believe that competition within the education industry would boost both the private and public schools.  We need to be able to provide a way for all children, regardless of social-economic status to be able to obtain the best education possible.  I believe as you introduce competition between schools, that the quality of teachers hired will increase, the classroom size will become smaller and the overall cost to educate our children will decrease.  

The surest way to increase the education and involvement of students in their education is by involving the parents.  Without parents, the best teachers in the world would not be able to sufficiently substitute the roles that parents have in their homes.  Parents have a sacred duty to instill in their children the importance of education by example and by taking an active role in their children’s education

Ethics in Government

I believe that any person who is in public office must put themselves at a higher level of scrutiny than the average citizen.  Public officials are entrusted with the citizen’s money and thus, the citizens have every right to know exactly what and who is handling their money.  I believe in the statement that we should avoid even the appearance of evil, especially as public officials.  There is no reason not to disclose all gifts regardless of cost and allow the citizens to judge for themselves whether that gift had any undue influence.  Even though it may be just a gestured gift, the appearance of receiving gifts without knowledge of what that gift entailed may look suspicious.

During this last session, bills where past that did much to improve our ethics laws but I believe that there are many ways that we could increase accountability of our lawmakers and hold them to a higher standard. 

Government Size and Local Control

I believe in government.  I believe that government has a purpose, and duties to protect the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.  However, I do not believe that it is government’s job to give people happiness or to provide for them all of life’s necessities.  Individuals have that right to carve out for themselves a life of their choosing.  It is government’s role to play as the referee in the game of life, to ensure that everyone is playing by the rules, not as the teammate or one who is actively involved in the game. 

I believe the most effective government are those that are closest to the people whom they serve.  The city government is the most effective in achieving the needs of the city.  The county government is the best dealing with county issues, and the state is the best in dealing with state problems and so forth.  I believe government works best when the various governments work within their jurisdictions and boundaries set forth by both the federal and state constitutions. 

Economic Development and Growth

The need to have a thriving and healthy economy is obvious.  When the economy is robust and growing, the government’s revenue stream increases, allowing us to better deal with educational, social, and safety problems.  However, as we have seen in recent times, when the economy is staggering, expenditures to worthwhile causes are cut in order to meet the budget.

Our laws must be business-friendly in order to promote the growth that we have seen in our past.  We need to have tax laws that encourage small businesses to start and grow. Small businesses are the life blood to any economy.  We need to avoid tax and regulatory burdens upon such businesses.  We need to encourage and allow businesses to take necessary risks in order for them to grow and prosper.  I am a strong believer that businesses and individuals will do more with their own money than the government will.      

Welfare Issues

As I have stated multiple times, I truly believe in the power of the individual to do great work within this life time.  It is not the government’s role to guarantee happiness or a secured income, or anything else that the individual is responsible for themselves.  We currently have an entitlement mentality as a society and believe that it is the government’s role to provide many items that in reality are ours.  We as a society need to get out of this mentality that the government owes us all these individual items that clearly are not set forth in the Constitution.  We need to encourage personal responsibility and have a welfare program that encourages such values. 

Our current welfare programs do not reward those who are trying to improve their lives.  There are many individuals who will refuse a raise or promotion because it puts them out of the income levels for welfare.  Had they accepted the promotion, even though their actual income would have increased, many of the other benefits such as day care are lost resulting in a net loss in actual cash flow each month.

I will support legislation that provides welfare reform to change our current system.  I will support any reform that encourages those individuals to succeed at the workplace and encourages those who are currently on welfare to become self-reliant.  Welfare is meant as a temporary help to those who have run into a bad situation.  It is not meant to be a lifestyle nor should it be. 

Taxes

I do not mind paying my taxes.  I do care however, how my money is spent.  The legislature and the governor should always remember that this is not their money.  This money is the product of hard work and sacrifice by those who have entrusted them with it.  As a general rule, I believe that the individual can and will do more with their money than the government.  There are items such as road construction, police, fire, etc., that would be more efficient to pay as a collective body.  However, I am a firm supporter of lowering taxes and the burdens that are placed upon the individual by our tax system.  I will support legislation that encourages such ideals and will firmly reject any legislation that encourages taxations outside those premises.

Illegal Immigration

I’m a strong believer in the Constitution and believe in the rule of law.  I do not believe that people should be able to pick and choose which laws that they will abide by.  There are always reasons for established laws otherwise they would not have been implemented in the first place.  I do, however, strongly believe that immigration to jobs will bring economic prosperity.  It’s the immigration to welfare, as stated by Milton Friedman that hampers down the economy and as such, I believe many of the illegal immigrations issues within the state are welfare issues. 

I believe that as in many other cases in many other departments in the U.S. government that the bureaucracy at the federal level makes it difficult, and too costly to immigrate to the United States.  Just as those businesses and individuals who come to Utah from Wisconsin to work will bolster the Utah economy, so will LEGAL immigrants from wherever, bolster both the U.S. and local economy if they move here to work.  We should encourage our government to pass pro-immigration legislation and encourage those people from other countries that would like to improve their lives to come to America. 

Any person or persons, regardless of immigration status should be held accountable for their actions.  Those who are illegal immigrants who commit their first criminal offense should be prosecuted and deported no questions asked.

I believe the quickest and surest way of solving the illegal immigration issue is by focusing our attention on those businesses that use these people for their illegal status for their own gain.  They exploit and provide little to no benefits to them.  Those businesses that violate our work laws should be held accountable and fined accordingly.  I will support any legislation that will increase our ability to enforce our current immigration laws and require stricter verification of newly hired employees